Spencer Hospital Named One of the Nation's Top Community Hospitals for Sixth Consecutive Year

posted on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 in General

Spencer Hospital has again been recognized as one of the Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals in the United States, earning the designation for the sixth consecutive year.  As such, Spencer Hospital is the only mid-sized Iowa hospital to have earned this distinction every year it has been awarded.

The nation’s top rural hospitals are recognized annually by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, which also recognizes the country’s Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals. Regarded as one of the industry’s respected designations of performance excellence for mid-sized hospitals, the annual Top 100 Rural & Community Hospitals award is based upon the results of the Hospital Strength INDEX® developed by iVantage Health Analytics.

“The past 12 months have been particularly challenging for everyone engaged in healthcare delivery,” said Bill Bumgarner, Spencer Hospital president. “It makes earning this distinction again especially rewarding this year.  It demonstrates our healthcare team’s resourcefulness to ensure exceptional care and services in many ways, even in the face of a once-in-a-generation pandemic.  Also, by earning this recognition for six consecutive years, it highlights the consistency of commitment and performance by our skilled medical staff, employees and volunteers.”  

In addition to its standing in Iowa, Spencer Hospital is one of just 22 mid-sized hospitals nationally – out of about 900 – that is a six-time Top 100 Rural & Community Hospital honoree.   

“This achievement reflects the quality of the entire Spencer medical community,” said Steve Lensing, Spencer Hospital board chair. “Good people are working together every day to offer care and services at a high level to our region.”

iVantage identifies top performing hospitals by aggregating hospital-specific data for over 50 service and outcome variables across eight pillars of performance, resulting in an overall hospital strength index. The majority of data used in the study is derived from public sources.  Areas in which top hospitals particularly distinguish themselves include quality and outcomes; patient satisfaction; costs and charges; market share; and financial stability.

“The Top 100 program continues to illuminate strategies and innovation for delivering higher quality care and better outcomes within rural communities,” said Michael Topchik, National Leader, The Chartis Center for Rural Health. “We are delighted to be able to spotlight the efforts of these facilities through the INDEX framework.”